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by Dave Gieber
What is anime? For all intents and purposes, this is a style of cartoon animation that has its beginnings in Japan. This particular genre has a distinctive character and aesthetics background that visually sets itself apart from other forms of animation.
While some anime is entirely hand-drawn, computer assisted animation techniques appear to be quite common. Story lines are typically fictional. Examples can be found in most major genres of fiction. Story lines can be found on television, distributed on media such as DVDs, or included in console and computer games. Anime has been influenced by Japanese comics known as manga.
The English word "anime" is a transliteration of the abbreviated version of this Japanese term. It appears there are two accepted ways of pronouncing this word. It can be pronounced as "ANN ih may" or many may also verbalize it as "AH nee may".
The history of anime got its start at the beginning of the 20th century. Japanese filmmakers started experimenting with the animation techniques that were being explored in the West.
During the 1970s, further development was seen as the genre was separating itself from its Western roots. Unique genres such as mecha were coming into being. In the 1980s, anime became widely accepted in the mainstream in Japan and therefore, experienced a boom in production. The 1990s and 2000s saw an increased acceptance of this form of expression in overseas markets.
At one time, the genre was also known as Japanimation, but this term has fallen into disuse. More usage of this term was seen during the 1970s and 1980s. This was the time period, which saw the first and second waves of anime fandom.
In more recent years, anime has been referred to in Europe as manga. This practice may have stemmed from the Japanese usage: In Japan, manga can refer to both animation and comics (although the use of manga to refer to animation is mostly restricted to non-fans). Among English speakers, manga usually has the stricter meaning of "Japanese comics".
Dave Gieber is the owner and editor of a website built around one of his childhood passions. Learn the basic essentials to comic book collecting success. To receive your free 5-part mini course visit: www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com/5-day-course.html Dave Gieber may be contacted at http://www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com
by Darren Pangan
Anime has become a phenomena. More and more Anime series and movies come out each year and the population of Anime fans around the world keeps on increasing as well. Also, the popularity of a particular Anime title that became a hit TV series usually lasts for years. Eventhough the show has ended on the TV station where it was aired, fans will search for their own copies of the series and watch it over and over. One might be wondering: What's the secret behind Anime's success? What does Anime have that often cannot be found in its Western counterparts? In this article, I'll try to point out some of the key factors behind the success of Anime.
Exciting action and complexity draws out a wider range of viewers. While cartoons, that were made in Western countries mainly targets children as its main audience, Anime, on the other hand, targets a wider range of viewers. As a matter of fact, a big part of the die-hard Anime fan population are teenagers and people in their early to mid 20's. In most cases, while children enjoy the spectacular actions and fight scenes, adults and young adults appreciate the complexity of the story and its emotional content. Most Anime series are mixes of comedy, action, and drama.
Main characters grow and develop their abilities as the story progress. Unlike in most western cartoons, wherein once the hero has established its character there's a little room (often none) for improvement, Anime characters grow as the story goes along. A good example would be the "Dragonball Z" characters where they even use "power levels" to show the improvement in a character's fighting skill. In the sports Anime titles "Slam Dunk: Team Shohoku" and "Hajime No Ippo", the main characters learn different techniques in every match. Often, the most exciting moment in an episode of an Anime series, is when the villain and the other characters are surprised by the hero's new ability.
Making the viewers watch out for the episodes to come. Most Anime series manage to get the viewers "hooked". By purposely keeping the story hanging at the end of every episode, viewers tend to watch out for the next and they would never want to miss out and episode. On most action Anime series, the battle between the hero and the villain lasts for several episodes while keeping each episode different from the other.
Although there are more reasons why fans keep going after their favorite Anime titles, we've pointed out three of the most common factors. (1) It can attract more viewers because it purposely targets a wider range of audiences. (2) The way the Anime characters grow and improve provides more excitement to the viewers. This is also one of the key factors behind the success of Role-Playing Games (RPG). And finally, (3) viewers are attached to their favorite series because of the way Anime writers intentionally ends every episode by not giving a definite conclusion to the story.
Darren Pangan owns Anime 2Manga.com, a website all about anime and manga that contains reviews and editorials. It also has an image gallery, free tools for your blogs, and other interactive features.Darren Pangan may be contacted at http://anime2manga.com/
by Darren Pangan
Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin, also known as Samurai X in its English-dubbed version, became one of the most popular Anime series. It was derived from the Manga (a term for the Japanese comic book) that was published in 1992 by Shueisha in Japan. Although the TV series started around 10 years ago, this Anime is still a popular title up to the time this article was written, and probably will still be popular for some years to come. There are a lot of reason why this anime is so popular but the main reason is that it is somewhat different from most of the Anime series that came out. Like any other popular Anime series, it has a hero with an interesting character, has an exciting plot, a mix of comedy, drama, and awesome fighting action. But what separates this Anime from the others is that its fiction lies behind a factual history. The setting and the events in the background do exist and can be found in the records of Japanese history.
The whole story found in the 95 episodes of the TV series happened in the 19th century Japan in a period known as the Meiji Era, in its early years. The hero, a wanderer named Kenshin Himura, was once an skillful assassin for the Choshou clan (one of the oppositions to the Tokugawa government) and fought during the Bakumatsu war. After the war, he decided to change his ways and swore not to kill. During his journey, he met Kaoru Kamiya, a young girl who lived in his late father's dojo found in Tokyo, where they met their friends. That includes Sanosuke, an ex-gangster who was hired by a revenge-seeking menace to kill Kenshin. After their fight, Sanosuke also decided to join Kenshin's friendly gang. Also there's Yahiko, a young thief adopted by Kaoru, and other interesting characters. Most of their villains were also warriors who can't let go of the old ways. Some of them are Aoshi Shinomori, who was once the leader of Oniwa Banshu (an elite group of ninjas back in the Edo Period), and Shishio Makoto, who was also an assassin during the war. The series can be divided into three parts. First is the Tokyo Arc, which is the sum of Kenshin's adventures that happened in Tokyo. Next is the Kyoto Arc, the one I consider (and I believe most Rurouni Kenshin fans would agree) as the main part of the whole series. Here, Kenshin and his friends travels to Kyoto to stop a terrorist group, lead by a former assassin, Shishio Makoto, from its evil plans to destroy the government. Following the Kyoto Arc are the final episodes where Kenshin and his friends continues their adventure. This TV series was aired on Cartoon Network and Animax.
On December of 1997, A Rurouni Kenshin Movie was released in Japan. It was entitled "Ishin Shishi no Requiem" (entitled Samurai X: The Motion Picture in the English-dubbed version). Here, Kenshin and his friends travels to Yokohama where they are caught between an attempt for a civil war against the Meiji Government. Two years after it's release, the first Rurouni Kenshin OAV (Original Animated Video) was released, entitled Tsuioku Hen (Samurai X: Remembrance). This OAV is an awesome 4-episode special for Rurouni Kenshin that shows the life of Kenshin as Hitokiri Battousai, or the assassin that he used to be. In several aspects, this OAV is very different from the TV series and the movie. The graphics and animation is higher in quality and more life-like, the fight scenes are truly spectacular, and the story, dialogs, and everything is a lot more emotional. Most of the characters that appeared in the TV series weren't present and in the story, Kenshin had a wife named Tomoe Yukishiro. While this OAV supposedly happened before the TV series, the second OAV, entitled Seisou Hen (Samura X: Reflection) is set after the story in the TV series. This time, Kenshin was already married to Kaoru and they had a son named Kenji who is also learning his father's technique from the master, Seijuro Hiko. The main villain in the story (who also appeared in the first OAV) is Enishi Yukishiro, Tomoe's little brother. Seisou Hen was released in Japan on December, 2001.
Rurouni Kenshin is truly a work of art. No wonder why a lot of people considered this Anime as their favorite. For the past years that Rurouni Kenshin reached the peak of its popularity, a lot of websites that are dedicated to this Anime series had emerged. Some of them features episode guides, character profiles, and other information about the Rurouni Kenshin Anime and Manga.
Darren Pangan owns Anime 2Manga.com, a website all about anime and manga that contains reviews and editorials. It also has an image gallery, free tools for your blogs, and other interactive features.Darren Pangan may be contacted at http://anime2manga.com/
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